1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to display facilities and other public spaces and, more particularly, to techniques for enhancing a visitor's experience within such a facility or space, and extending a visitor's experience beyond the physical constraints of such a facility or space.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Traditionally, display facilities and other public spaces (e.g., museums, convention centers, retail stores, etc.) are constructed such that patrons passively view static objects and/or live or prerecorded presentations available in the facility or space (e.g., paintings and other artifacts, consumer electronics and other merchandise, live skits or audio I video and computer-generated demonstrations, etc.). More recently, however, display facilities and other public spaces have been equipped with technology intended to enrich the visitor experience and to provide more user control over the experience. For example, some museums now provide visitors with portable devices that enable those visitors to listen to accompanying audio when viewing artifacts. Additionally, some display facilities equip exhibits (e.g., with push-buttons) so that visitors are able to select among a number of available audio or video presentations. However, known techniques still provide for relatively little visitor control, and do not provide opportunity to extend the visitor experience beyond the physical boundaries of the public spaces themselves. Consequently, there is a need for improved methods and apparatus for enriching the experience of a visitor to a display facility or other public space.